'Time for Tendulkar to introspect'

Melbourne: Former Australia cricket captain Ian Chappell said India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar has to take a look at himself and ask if he is playing the game for the right reason.

"What could have been a glorious farewell tour of Australia for Sachin Tendulkar has turned into an ongoing tale of missed opportunities, leading to frustration all round," Chappell wrote in The Daily Telegraph.

Chappell said with Tendulkar blaming others for his failure to get the elusive 100th international century, it was high time for him to look at himself.

When a player of Tendulkar's ability starts blaming others for his failure to deliver, it was time he asked himself: 'Am I playing this game for the right reason?'" said the legendary cricketer.

Chappell said there was only one reason to play cricket - to help team win matches.

"If a player gives everything and the team loses there is no shame in that, but when individual statistics start to overshadow the team result then clearly there is a problem.

"That has been a huge hurdle for India to overcome all summer - Tendulkar's search for his 100th century has become a burden on the team as well as the player," he said.

Chappell said Tendulkar looked vulnerable when he played conservatively.

"The strange part about this saga of missed opportunities is that Tendulkar started the tour in really good form. In both the MCG and SCG Tests, he looked good when playing his shots and it was only as he either neared a break in play or his landmark hundred that he began to clam up.

"When he was playing his shots he looked like the Tendulkar of old, but when he batted conservatively he looked vulnerable," he said.